Five European draft prospects Caps fans should know at No. 8 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
WWith the Capitals landing the eighth pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, NBC Sports Washington’s Matt Weyrich and Ethan Cadeaux are examining five prospects from each of the two major continents who could be available when the Capitals are on the clock. Up first: Europe.
The Capitals find themselves at an intriguing spot in this summer’s NHL Draft. No, they didn’t win the lottery and the right to select generational prospect, Connor Bedard. They did, however, land high enough in a draft where the talent is top-heavy to select one of the higher-upside players before things start to get muddled in the middle.
It puts Washington in prime position to choose between several of the best prospects to come out of Europe this year. The 2023 European class is headlined by Russian winger Matvei Michkov and Swedish center Leo Carlsson, neither of whom would ever be expected to be available at No. 8 under normal circumstances. They both have the traits and prospect pedigree to go as high as third to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
But while Carlsson will almost certainly be off the board early, Michkov has a chance to drop down to the Capitals’ range due to his contract status with the KHL. The 18-year-old has some of the best hockey IQ in the class and his playmaking ability rivals that of even Bedard. Here’s the catch: Michkov is signed to a KHL deal through 2025-26, creating a murky timeline for when he might be able to actually play for the team that drafts him.
There’s precedent for players getting out of their KHL deals, even within the Capitals’ organization. Ivan Miroshnichenko, their 2022 first-round pick, agreed to a mutual contract termination with his KHL club in early May before signing his entry-level deal with Washington. It’s not yet clear whether Michkov would be able to negotiate something similar.
If he falls to No. 8, Michkov — the best Russian skater prospect since Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were drafted with the top two picks in 2004 — would carry the highest upside of any player available. The Capitals have a history of taking big swings with their draft picks, selecting the highly regarded Miroshnichenko 20th overall last year despite his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis and taking 2018 QMJHL No. 1 pick Hendrix Lapierre with the 22nd selection in 2020 after he was sidelined with a spinal cord injury.
There’s just as much of a chance Michkov goes to the Blue Jackets at three as he does the Capitals at eight. Should another team ahead of Washington decide to roll the dice on him, there are several other Europeans GM Brian MacLellan could select. Slovakian center Dalibor Dvorsky has earned high marks for both his shot and on-ice vision while splitting time between the Swedish professional league and their top junior circuit the last few years.
Dvorsky, who turns 18 in June, is among the youngest players in the class. He’s got a solid frame at 6-foot-1, 201 pounds, but isn’t the fastest skater and may end up shifting to the wing. A potential fit both as a top-six forward and power-play contributor, Dvorsky would immediately have one of the highest offensive ceilings of anyone in the Capitals’ development system.
Although perhaps a bit more volatile of a selection, Czech winger Edward Sale looked like a potential top-five pick early in juniors before stumbling at the professional level. He’s got an above-average toolset, a strong skater who has impressed scouts both as a scorer and passer. Consistency has been an issue, however, and he finished off his 2022-23 play on a sour note struggling in both U18 tournaments he participated in this year.
Even so, he’s a player who could thrive at the NHL level if he can develop into a finished product. Sale has the ability to take over games with his playmaking and can score from all over the ice. Should the Capitals take him, it would be up to their development coaches to polish some of the finer points of his game in order for him to reach his potential.
When asked last week what excited him most about this draft class, MacLellan told NBC Sports Washington’s Alexa Landestoy there were “a lot of good forwards, a couple good defensemen” he felt would be within their range. Should the Capitals decide to pad their blue line, their draft pick is likely to come from the European ranks.
The consensus top two defensemen in the 2023 draft are Austrian skaters David Reinbacher and Axel Sandin Pellikka out of Sweden. Reinbacher will likely be the first D-man off the board after becoming the rare defenseman prospect to spend his entire draft year at the professional level. He thrived for EHC Kloten in Switzerland, tallying 22 points in 56 games and finishing with a plus-seven rating despite the team’s overall poor scoring output.
Strong forward depth in this class could allow Reinbacher to fall to the Capitals at eight, but they may have to pivot to Sandin Pellikka if Reinbacher is taken and they still want to address the position. Sandin Pellikka is the best junior-level defenseman prospect in the class, most recently receiving the award for the best blue liner in the U18 Worlds tournament.
Either player would be the Capitals’ most highly touted defenseman prospect since John Carlson, each projecting to be top-four blue liners with scoring potential. This year’s European class boasts both high-upside prospects and projectable talent at either end of the ice. For the Capitals, both should be well in range when they’re on the clock at eighth overall.